UNITE member awarded compensation after developing a deadly cancer after being exposed to asbestos in the workplace

UNITE member awarded compensation after developing a deadly cancer after being exposed to asbestos in the workplace

06 November 2007

compensation after developing mesothelioma

AUNITEmember has been awarded £130,000 incompensationafter he developed a deadly cancer after being exposed toasbestosin the workplace.

Granddad Doug Conroy, 70, from Pembroke Dock in Pembrokeshire, has been awarded thedamagesafter he developedmesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung.

He was helped to claim the money by his union, Unite, and their lawyers, Thompsons Solicitors.

There is no cure for mesothelioma which is caused by exposure to asbestos and can take up to 30 years to develop.

Often patients have just months to live following diagnosis.

Doug was first exposed to asbestos while he was still a teenager training to be anelectrician with W H Smith, Electrical Engineers and Contractors in the 1950s. He remembers working in asbestos ridden areas while installing cabling, lighting and power systems at steelworks, chemical plants and coke works around the UK, including the Redbourne works in Scunthorpe and the Dorman Long steelworks in Middlesbrough.

He was later exposed to the dangerous dust again while working for Drake & Gorham in 1971 to 1973 building Pembroke power station. He installed electrical systems and spent time working in the boiler house where pipes were being lagged with asbestos. He remembers the asbestos ‘snowing’ down from the floors above. He was never given any protection.

Doug, who has three children and two grandchildren, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in February 2004 and has undergone chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a specialist operation in Leicester to help his condition.

He said he knows he is lucky to have received his compensation in his lifetime.

He said: “When I was diagnosed with mesothelioma it was a hell of a shock. I thought I knew what was wrong with me – I thought it was heart trouble. So when they said it was mesothelioma I thought ‘I am finished’.

“I know I am one of the exceptional ones. I am extremely lucky to still be here. The doctor said there was nothing he could do for me.

“Most people who get this illness do not live to see the compensation. It can take a long time for it to come through. I am just pleased that now I can provide for my family after I am gone and while I am still here I can enjoy a little bit of comfort.”

Andy Richards, Unite regional secretary added: “We will continue to fight to ensure asbestos victims, like Mr Conroy, retain their right to claim full compensation for the injuries they have suffered through merely carrying out a hard day’s work.

“It is only right that these victims are compensated by their employers’ insurers for the hardship caused by unwittingly being exposed to asbestos.”

Client representative, Eamonn McDonough fromThompsons Solicitors’ Cardiff officeadded: “We are pleased to have helped Mr Conroy to successfully claim damages for his exposure to asbestos. It was a long fight – not helped by the insurers disputing that he did not have his disease, as he has thankfully lived longer than some with his dreadful and unnecessary disease. It was important for Mr Conroy to have his due entitlement while he was still alive and could make use of it.

“At Thompsons we work hard to ensure that our clients gain justice and proper compensation for their condition.”

Asbestos disease diagnosis? Talk to us for advice and support on how to secure compensation.

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, we can support you with advice on how to make a claim.

The process will be explained in plain English and with no obligation – our priority is to provide you with the best, expert advice on whether you have a valid case for compensation, and to signpost you to further sources of support.

There are strict time limits applied to making a claim – usually three years from the date of diagnosis. It doesn’t matter if the exposure to asbestos took place – as it often does – decades ago, the three year time limit applies to the date of knowledge of diagnosis or date of death.